One year ago, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.
The case ignited a heated national debate about race.
As the high profile trial for George Zimmerman continues in the courts, the City of Sanford tries to heal after the shooting put it on the national stage.
Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. sat down to reflect on the past year.
“This has been a very trying year,” he said.
- Previous Story: 1 year after Trayvon Martin's death, Sanford is healing
The shooting death of Trayvon Martin ignited an international uproar that put the City of Sanford at the center of a racial debate.
"We had residents telling us that they had relatives and friends calling them from outside this area asking them when they were going to leave," Bonaparte said. "Sanford must be burning down based upon what the news media was reporting.”
Protests and about 20,000 visitors left city leaders having to answer tough questions in the months following the shooting.
“I think what the killing of Trayvon Martin revealed was some deep-seeded issues of members of the African American community and the Sanford Police department that took place way before Trayvon Martin’s shooting," Bonaparte said. "It has been certainly revealing to hear some of the concerns that some of the community's black residents have regarding their relationship with the Sanford Police department.”
Parents around the world watched Trayvon Martin’s parents get up in front of the cameras time and time again demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman.
“To the Martin Family, we continue to express our condolences that it happened here in Sanford," Bonaparte said.
The city manager fired Police Chief Bill Lee, who was the police chief during the time of the shooting.
The new chief -- Cecil Smith – starts April 1.
They’ve also created a panel that meets twice a week to talk about community relations within the police department.
And they’ve been working with the Department of Justice and pastors in the community in hopes of bring people together.
"We have taken a number of steps to make Sanford a better community," Bonaparte said. "We will honor Trayvon’s life by making Sanford a better community."
He said the city is better one year later.
"It unnerved some things and gave us the opportunity to see where we needed to work and make some changes and we are doing those," Bonaparte said.